SGA clashes with Booker. Brooks ignites rivalry. Can Jalen Green be Phoenix's X-factor? Round 1's epic storylines unfold.
The wait is over, Oklahoma City Thunder fans. OKC's first round matchup is finally officially set in stone.
For the first time in league history, the OKC Thunder will meet the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs.
The final game of the play-in tournament resulted in the Suns taking down Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors to claim the #8 seed in the Western Conference. After spending the large majority of the regular season in the #7 spot, Phoenix fell at home to the Portland Trail Blazers in the first play-in contest. Jalen Green put on a scoring clinic in their win or go home matchup against the Warriors to clinch the postseason bid in a big bounce back season for the Suns.
Now that the Thunder's first postseason opponent is known, it's time to discuss the best storylines of the Round 1 series.
Thunder vs Suns Top 3 Storylines
1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs Devin Booker. The biggest headline for nearly every NBA playoff series since the dawn of time is the superstar matchups. While this one is not as glamorous as it would have been if the Warriors advanced, it's still two of the best guards in the NBA going head to head. Booker is still a top 15 or so player in the league and fully capable of lighting it up any night. He ranked #9 in points per game this season. The problem for Phoenix is that Booker's counterpart may be the best player on the planet at the moment. Gilgeous-Alexander is the soon to be back to back MVP and gives OKC a sizable advantage in the most crucial matchup of the series.
2. Dillon Brooks as an OKC Villain Origin Story. There are a handful of players in the NBA that epitomize the whole "love him if he's on your team, hate him if he's on another team" saying. Draymond Green currently wears the crown and is in GOAT discussions. And Brooks may be his greatest competitor. The Team Canada teammate of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort is known for his physicality, provoking opponents, getting under other players' skin and contentious antics. Brooks will likely be showered with boos from the Game 1 intro until the final game in OKC's final buzzer. To be fair, Suns fans may feel the same way about Dort. But these are storylines from the Thunder perspective, so I'll let the Suns RoundTable crew write an article for the opposing view.
3. X Factor Jalen Green. The former #2 overall draft pick's has been a rollercoaster ride of highs and lows throughout his five seasons. Typically regarded as an inefficient, high volume scorer with an unsavory shot diet, there are also times when Green looks like a bonafide star. Case in point: the two play-in games when he scored 35 and 36 points in back to back games and was unquestionably Phoenix's best player. If the Suns get good Green, he could steal a game or two for the Suns. Fortunately for Oklahoma City fans, the Thunder have a few things the Warriors do not. And those things are Lu Dort, Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso.